Past Life
by kayayeteferturtle
Summary: Where did Light go when he died? Ryuk said that he would not be able to go to Heaven or Hell, but the spirit must have went somewhere, right? Light used the Death Note more than any previous person, wouldn't it stand that he gain attention of others. Light is given another chance to create his perfect world when he gains the admiration of another supernatural creature.
1. Chapter 1

The last thing Light saw on Earth was the lights hanging from the ceiling inside an abandoned warehouse, now he was looking up at a dull and dimly lit cave. Light sat up feeling his chest where the bullet wounds were, but how there was nothing; no blood, no pain, not even heat coming off of his skin.

"Where am I?" he asked himself out loud

"Shhh!" someone hissed

Light quickly turned his head toward the sound, but there was no one around, just darkness where the dim light couldn't reach.

"Whose there?" Light asked the open air

"SHHH!" the sound came louder and closer

"Why? Come out into the light?" Light coaxed

A figure began to slowly crawl its way into the light. They appeared to be human, but a dying and starved human.

"What are you?" Light asked narrowing his eyes

"You need to lower your voice!" the creature hissed

"Why? Who else is here?" Light started craning his neck to look around

"No one… yet." The creature cowered, "My name was Cain, but now I'm just called 'servant' or 'creature'."

"What is this place?" Light asked side eyeing Cain

"The realm of the Reapers." Cain replied in a whispered tone as if he just said something bad

"Reapers?" Light questioned

"You know the harbingers of death, you die they come and deliver your soul to its afterlife. Norse mythologies called them Valkyries." Cain explained

"So like a shimigami?" Light asked confused

"No worse. Shimigami's got lazy and they don't do anything anymore unless they need to extent their lives. Reapers they scour the world taking thousands of souls a day. They follow people around and watch their life clocks tick down to zero, then they let them die the death they were destined for and then take their souls. They only do it for their pleasure, they don't need expand their lives, they just like watching people die." Cain said still cowering

"I don't see how that is worse." Light said starting to think Cain was crazy, "What's wrong with you? You look sick."

"Get used to it kid because soon you'll look just as bad. You'll see; you'll see what they are really like. Then you'll understand why you must hide and keep quiet." Cain said and stared to slump back into the shadows.

Suddenly there was the sound of wings flapping coming from the cave entrance. It sounded like a flock of large birds of prey were landing.

"They're here, they are looking for servants. You must hide! They'll be looking for the new comers!" Cain hissed and disappeared inside the shadows.

Light wasn't afraid; why should he be? He knew he was already dead, what is left that these reapers could do? Two tall figures entered the cave, Light crouched behind a rock and watched them, studied them. They appeared to be very tall, almost as tall as Ryuk was when he stood up straight. They had large wings on their backs, they resembled bird wings and the feathers drug all the way to the ground. It looked like the two that entered the cave we males; they were wearing black pants and combat style boots, but no shirt. The wings probably made it hard to put on any kind of shirt, but who would want to wear one when you were as built and defined as they were. Flying must be a real workout because both men didn't look like they had half a percent of body fat on them.

"I know he's here somewhere. He's too stupid to find another hiding spot." One of the men said looking around in the dark. He had brown and white feathers; it reminded Light of a falcon's markings

"Come on Cain! We have some things that need cleaning and those little hands of yours are the only ones that can reach." The second man called out. He had silvery grey wings; they looked like a pelicans.

"Stop worrying about your stupid little creature. He's not the one we are looking for anyways." A female's voice came echoing in the cave.

She strolled in to the cave carrying herself like a queen. Once she stepped into the light, Light noticed the gleaming metal wings. There was hardly any light coming into the cave, but what was reflecting off of her wings illuminated the cave walls. She was tall, well at least taller than Light, she was still shorter than the two men. She had long nearly white silvery hair, but her eyes, her eyes were pitch black. She didn't have any white showing; you couldn't tell where she was looking because you couldn't see the movement. She however was wearing a top to cover her breasts, but it looked like a piece of cloth that fit like strapless bra, just enough to cover her breasts, but exposing her shoulders and flat stomach. She was dressed in black skin tight pants, and a white top, and dark grey boots.

"Ahh, there's the little creature." One of the men called and picked up Cain by his raggedy shirt.

They all turned to where Cain was now hanging several feet off the ground in the grip and the tall brown winged man. They had their backs to Light and he noticed that the two men have what look like tridents on their backs hanging from slings. The woman however had a long great sword running down the length of her spine also held by a sling.

"Where's the new one, creature?" The woman said coldly

Cain didn't say anything, he just tried to make himself as small as possible bring his knees to his chest and ducking his head.

"Now creature, don't make this harder than it needs to be. We know he is around here somewhere, so just answer the question and we won't have to punish you." The second man said and started reaching for his trident.

Cain began squealing in fright and thrashing making him swing around still being held by the first man.

"Put it down." The woman commanded

The first man obliged without hesitation dropping Cain from the height he was holding him from. Cain fell to the floor in a painful smack, and quickly began to scoot back until he found the cave wall. The woman gracefully walked to Cain; no expression playing on her face.

"Creature, I know he is here somewhere. You never hesitate to spill information about the other servants, but this one is new, and you still have hope for him don't you." The woman bent down and was crouching in front of Cain

Cain began to slowly nod his head agreeing to what she had said, "I know you think we are going to hurt him, but I have other plans. I want to train him, just as we had hoped to train you until we realized how weak you really were. So Cain, where is Light Yagami? Where is Kira?" the woman put a large hand on the wall next to Cain's face.

Cain pointed a boney finger in the direction where Light was watching behind a rock. The two men smiled slyly, but the woman remained passive and nodded. "Thank you Cain. I'll make sure these two aren't too hard on you this time." She stood up and began slowly walking in the direction Cain had pointed.

The silver winged man picked up Cain and threw him out the cave entrance like he was a discarded toy. Both of the men left the cave, and the woman stopped in the middle of the cave staring directly at the rock Light was hiding behind.

"I know you're behind there Kira." She said calmly still staring at the rock. "Or I can call you Light if you'd prefer."

Light slowly stood so the woman could see him. Now that he was standing he noticed how tall she was, if he was lucky he might be able to be eye level with her breasts.

"Step out into the light." She said watching him with interest

Light warily made his way around the rock and into the light a few feet away from her.

"Do you know where you are Light?" She asked but it sounded like she already knew the answer to her own question

"The Reaper realm." Light muttered barely audible

"That is correct. Do you know what I am?" She nodded

"A Reaper." Light answered

"You're partly correct, but that is something to explain later. Come." She started walking towards the cave entrance, but Light didn't follow.

"Light we can do this the hard way or the easy way, it is your choice." She said but never turned around, she continued out of the cave disappearing into the light.

Light stood for a moment weighing his options, but seeing as though there weren't many he started towards the entrance. Light stepped outside and quickly shielded his eyes from the bright light. Once his eyes adjusted he noticed the woman standing at the edge of a cliff that over looked fields of grass and groves of tree's.

"Not what you were expecting for a realm of creatures who essentially are the harbingers of death?" She asked looking out onto the field.

Light slowly walked over to stand next to her, "What is going on? What do you want with me? Why am I here?"

"You're full of questions aren't you?" She gave half of a smile, "All in good time Light. Lucky for you that is all you have now, time. It's up to you how you want to use that time. Follow me or don't, you decide your fate from here." She shrugged.

Her metal wings unfolded and spread out showing their long length and the metal clinked and it almost sounded musical. She flapped them a few times and jumped off the cliff soaring down to the next ledge.

"There is a trail to your right; it leads you to a fork. You'll know what to decide from there. I hope to see you soon Light Yagami." She barely yelled and flew away disappearing in the sun light.

"What the hell is going on here? Decide my fate? I'm already dead what is there to decide?" Light muttered to himself and began walking in the direction the woman said.

For being a realm of Reapers it was surprisingly bright and warm. Most people think of Reapers as cold and dark, but there were flowers and trees everywhere. There didn't seem to be bugs or weeds, it was like a perfect garden. Light found the fork in the road that the woman and mentioned and there were two signs; _Reapers_ a sign pointed to the right path and _Servants_ pointed to the left path. After seeing the state Cain was in Light decided that the best option was to go to the right. The decision was easy and logical and Light quickly began down the path. Light didn't walk long before coming to a small village where there groups of people with large wings on their backs and various weapons in slings hanging from their sides or on their backs. Light walked further into the village and soon everyone was staring at him whispering.

"So you made the obvious choice." Said a voice

Light turned around and saw the same woman from the cave standing with her sword in front of her, tip dug into the dirt.

"I have high hopes for you Light Yagami, you kept many us busy during your time on Earth when you had that Death Note." The corners of her mouth turn up slightly "I personally was cheering for you, humans are vile and out of control, but you had a pure vision that people didn't understand. Which is why I wanted you here, I fought for you to be given a chance here. Many of the other realms were against it thinking that you be stuck in the Vail or put in Purgatory with the rest of the lost souls or monsters, but I wanted to give you a chance to continue your vision." She began circling Light with her sword on her shoulder. "Light Yagami, Kira, I want you to become a Reaper, but not just any Reaper. A Reaper like me; one of the few that get to go around earth and other realms taking souls of those who, for lack of a better word, deserve it." Now she was smiling exposing perfectly straight and brilliantly white teeth, but the canines were slightly longer than the rest and more pointed than usual.

She stood in front of light waiting for an answer, looking down at Light with a burning heat that made Light uncomfortable.

"How about I show you exactly what I do? Maybe that'll convince you to give this whole Reaping thing a try." She said and slid the sword back behind her and put it in its sling.

"I don't know your name. Why should I go with you if I don't know you?" Light questioned taking a step back

"Again with the questions." She sighed, "My name is Bryn, and that is all I will tell you at this point. I will answer your questions once you decide. If you don't want to come then you must decide now, and if you decline the offer then I send you to the Vail and you live your eternity lost and in pain."

"Show me." Light replied trying to hide his fear of the unknown.

"Good, follow me." Bryn motioned and started to walk towards a large building at the heart of the village.

"I think you'll like where we are going." Bryn said as she opened a large door, "Since you can't fly and I can't exactly carry you everywhere we'll have to travel through the portal." Bryn continued through a large hall and to a large golden mirror.

"I imagine you know the old tales that mirrors were once believed to be the gateways into the next life or what kept the phantasmal beings out of the human world. It's, for the most part, true. We are going to visit an old friend of yours." She said and moved her hand to touch the golden mirror. It ripped under her touch and soon the neighborhood Light used to live in with Misa was visible. "Just walk through it." She said and stepped in.

Light hesitated for a moment before taking a step into the mirror. He came out the other side as if there was nothing in between the mirror and the world he was now in. Light turned around expecting to see the hall behind him, but instead it was just a street and cars.

"How do we get back?" Light started to ask, but at the moment he opened his mouth a man was about to walk into him, but instead of colliding the man simply walked through Light. The man gave a slight shudder but kept walking.

"Don't worry about getting back just yet. You're technically a ghost, people can't see you, they walk through you, but you'll give them a serious case of the chills for a while." Bryn said with straight face looking down to Light, "That little Misa doesn't have any papers of a Death Note does she?"

"Why can you ask questions and I can't?" Light asked annoyed, "No she doesn't, I made her give up ownership and now that I'm dead she shouldn't have any memories of it."

"Good." Bryn started walking down the street

"Why are they walking through you? It's like they are walking around you." Light asked watching people moving around them

"Because I'm death, the soul has an automatic reaction to avoid death, they don't notice it but they avoid anything that is death. They can't see me it just a natural reaction for them. If I touch them then they die." Bryn answered annoyed

They continued in silence for a while, Light was taking in the familiarity of his surroundings, he didn't know when the next time he would be here.

"How long has it been since my death?" Light asked he didn't care if it annoyed Bryn

"In this point in time it's been about a month." Bryn answered but the question didn't seem to bother her so Light decided to ask another.

"So you don't follow a certain time line?" He asked picking up his pace

"No." She said curtly and then sighed, "Time is not a definite line for us, we can move around the time continuum freely. We can go thousands of years into the future, we can go back but we can't kill those who aren't supposed to die. We don't mess with fixed point in time. Time is a like a tangled fishing line, all the points that are untangled are the past, a straight line. You can go back to it but if you start messing with it, it gets tangled again and affects the rest of the line. The future is the tangles you still need to work on, you can pick a spot and work the knots, but there is always more to work out so it really doesn't matter where you start. If that makes any sense." Bryn looked down at Light.

"I understand." Light replied and thought over her comparison.

They continued and stopped in front of the apartment building where Light used to live at.

"I watched you for a long time Light, especially when your life time clock was finally visible. I grew to really hate Misa, I found her childish and immature. Today is her day to die; I thought you like to see it." Bryn said confidently and looked up at the building

Light smiled, and he felt the part of him that was still Kira come back front and center. Light wanted to dispose of Misa a long time ago, and now he was finally getting to do just that. Maybe this whole Reaper thing would be a good thing to become in his next life.


	2. Chapter 2

Bryn unfolded her large metal wings and grabbed Light by the arm. Her touch was icy almost to the point it was painful. Her grip was powerful, and Light thought that if he was still human and able to bruise he would have hand a large hand print around his bicep. Bryn flapped her wings with a melodic chiming and soon the ground under Light's feet disappeared and he was several hundred feet above the ground. Bryn stopped and they were hovering in front of Light's familiar bedroom window. Gracefully Bryn landed them both on the terrace looking into the bedroom where Misa sat on the bed reading what appeared to be a script.

"Light before we go in I need to know what you are planning. As of right now she cannot see us or hear us, but I need to know the plan before I expose us." Bryn stared straight ahead at Misa, hatred burning in her black eyes

"I want her to die slowly, painfully, but I don't know exactly how yet." Light answered pondering the infinite possibilities of Misa's demise

"Do you want to know my suggestion?" Bryn looked down at Light through the corner of her eyes.

Light didn't answer but nodded once to acknowledge that he was listening.

Bryn saw the acknowledgment and continued to stare at Misa as she spoke, "You can remove a soul from a body leaving the person alive but with no purpose; no sense of being, no knowledge of right and wrong, no feelings, no sympathy, essentially they are cold and heartless. They will continue living on this Earth as an empty shell. When the soul is removed you can do what you want with it and the vessel. You can keep the soul and deliver it to whatever after life you'd like; Heaven, Hell, Valhalla, Dante's Inferno, the river Styx, I really don't care. You can give the body to a gang and she lives her life as a sex slave or some sick person's human lab rat, again I don't care. That is just a suggestion, do what you want. Well more like I'll do what you want me to do to her."

By the time Bryn had finished her explanation Light's eyes were shining with the immense possibilities that were available to him, but one thing Bryn said distracted him, "What do you mean that you'll do it?"

Bryn reached behind her and drew her sword and held the blade in her hands, "This is what you need to extract a soul from a person, dead or alive. The stereotypical weapon of the Reapers is the scythe, but you get to pick your 'scythe' when you become a Reaper. As you see mine is a two handed great sword. The weapon separates the astral body from the physical body. If I were to hand this to you it would disappear into dust at your touch and only reanimate if I touch it. If you want to relieve Misa of her soul I have to be the one to do so. You can do with her body however you see fit, and you can have her soul once it's separated from her body, but you can't be the one to separate it."

Light hadn't really looked at Bryn's sword when he met her back in the village, but looking at it now he noticed the size and how it was well taken care of. The pommel was the head of a black dragon with its mouth open and so much detail that it had blood red teeth and a tongue. The grip was wrapped with black and red leather that looked like it had been oiled daily. The cross guard was made of the same black metal as the dragon, and it gleamed in the sunlight. The blade was shined and sharped with great precision and the ridge was incrusted with what looked like rubies. Although the way Bryn was holding the sword he couldn't tell how tall it was but comparing her height and the length of the sword, Light imagined that the sword would be equal height or taller than him.

Bryn put the sword back in its scabbard behind her, "So Light what is your plan?"

"What happens to the soul if it isn't delivered anywhere?" Light asked focusing back to Misa who sat unaware of them planning her death

"It goes to the vail to live in constant pain. The astral body stays here forever looking for the soul, haunting anyone who disturbs her search. She'll forever haunt this apartment until she somehow manages to find her soul." Bryn answered

"Do you know how she is supposed to die? Looking at her now can you see her life span?" Light asked

"Seriously with the questions?" Bryn sighed and then continued, "Yes I can see how much time she has left, and how she is destined to die. She is supposed to live till the age of 84 years, 5 months, 6 days, 3 hours, 11 minutes, and 3 seconds, and die of a pulmonary embolism. Being a Reaper you have the ability ignore the life clock and kill her immediately by the death they are destined to die of. Now being me, I can completely ignore the life clock and the destiny and kill her however I want. I am temporarily lending you that ability so you get to be the one to kill her."

Light opened his mouth to ask another question but was quickly stopped by Bryn, "Stop asking questions, I'll explain if you agree to train and become and Reaper. Just decide how you want her to die and let's get this over with. I have one more thing to show you once we are done here so hurry it up." Bryn was glaring down at Light annoyed

Light grumbled under his breath at the short temper of Bryn. "I don't want to keep her alive, but that is all I'm going to tell you. Let's go."

Bryn rolled her eyes, but it was unnoticed to Light because there was nothing that actually rolled. Bryn stepped forward and went through the glass door that separated them from Misa. Light followed and walked through the glass just as he had with the golden mirror. Being able to walk through walls was something Light would need to get used to, but it was going to be a huge advantage to his afterlife.

"I'm going to allow Misa to see both of us. She is going to try and err, touch you but the moment she makes contact she will die however you have planned if you are focused on that thought, but if you don't want to kill her immediately you have to clear your mind until you are ready."

Light took in a deep breath that really didn't do anything; it was just a force of habit, and nodded to Bryn.

"Alright." Bryn unfolded her wings but didn't completely spread them out. She reached to one of her wings and plucked out a small metal feather the danced in the breeze like a normal feather, but the metal delicately clinked together rhythmically.

Bryn approached the bed where Misa was seated and placed the feather in front of Misa to where she would notice it. Bryn stepped back so she was almost in between Light and Misa. Misa quickly noticed the feather shining in the light and reached down to pick it up.


	3. Chapter 3

The feather glistened in the sun light as Misa lifted it up to inspect it. Misa had ahold of the feather by the steam and twirled it in her fingers. The after feathers and downy feathers danced with the movement and clinked delicately with the wind.

"Where did you come from?" Misa cooed at the feather, "I can almost hear a faint sound when I move it. It's like its metal." Misa reached up with her other hand and stroked the vane, "Ouch!" blood dripped from Misa's finger and onto the paper of the script.

"Hello Misa." Bryn said coldly to get the attention of Misa

Misa jumped at the sound and the feather floated gently down to the bed, "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Bryn, I am a Reaper." Bryn said with ice at the word Reaper. Bryn stepped aside so Light was visible to Misa.

Misa suddenly forgot her intruder and jumped off of the bed and ran towards Light, "Light you're alive!"

Light stepped aside at the last second and Misa crashed into a chair face first. Bryn suppressed a laugh as Misa crawled back up rubbing her nose.

"Is that how you treat your fiancé after you haven't seen her for a month?" Misa asked in a huffed tone

"Misa I'm going to treat you much worse than that." Light said darkly

"You want to get kinky huh?" Misa began taking off her clothes but Light stopped her before she could remove her shirt.

"Keep your clothes on. I'm not here to be with you, I'm here to kill you." Light's eyes grew dark as Kira took control

Bryn watched intrigued by how quickly Light was getting to the point. Bryn took a seat at the edge of the bed and watched excited by what might happen next.

"Light sweetie why would you want to kill me I thought you loved me?" Misa cleared the distance between herself and Light and put a hand on Light's arm, "You're so cold. I'll make you some tea."

Misa got up to leave the room but was quickly met by one of Bryn's large wings blocking her path. Misa walked face first into the metal wing and cried out in pain and thousands of small cuts covered her face. Bryn had moved from the bed to the doorway at such a speed Light completely missed her movements.

Misa got on her knees still holding her face, "What did you do to my face? I'm a supermodel you know!"

"I know, everyone knows; everyone on this Earth and all the realms knows about your stupid narcissistic personality." Bryn lowered her wing and moved away from the whimpering Misa, "Get this over with Light I'm about to do it myself."

Light sighed and rolled his eyes, Bryn growled at the gesture, and walked over to where Misa was now standing in front of a floor length mirror.

"Light can you believe what that _thing_ did to me!?" Misa's reflection glared at Bryn, "Get it out of here. Why is it even with you? Is it another Shinigami?"

"How do you know about them?" Light asked angrily

"They wrote several articles about it after they thought you died. That 'N' released the information about the Death Notes and said if anyone ever comes in contact with another one that they will be tracked down and arrested immediately." Misa said happily, "But now that you're still alive and you have another one you can continue being Kira."

Light narrowed his eyes at Misa, but he wasn't focusing on her just what she said, "I'm not alive Misa, I am very much dead, but I will be given a second opportunity to become Kira, and this time you won't be around to slow me down. I don't need a stupid Death Note to do it either. Now there is no way they can track me down, there is no way they will be able to pin point it on anyone, and Kira won't be a person, but an all-powerful supernatural being!" The fire in Light's eyes shined brightly as Light went from himself to Kira the blood thirsty murder.

Misa's eyes grew wide, but before she was able to say anything Kira grabbed Misa around the throat and pulled her up easily with one hand. Misa kicked at Kira but he was unaffected by Misa's feet making contact with his chest. Misa began to struggle for breath, and her face began to turn purple. Bryn watched as if it was a sporting event, every movement had her complete undivided attention. Bryn didn't want to miss the smallest amount a pain that was playing across Misa's face like a movie. Kira smashed Misa against the mirror and shards of glass fell to the floor at his feet.

"This isn't how you die Misa. No I have so much more planned; by the end you'll be begging me to kill you." Kira breathed and Bryn bared her teeth in an ugly smile at the words.

Kira turned around and threw Misa onto the bed where she bounced several times on impact. Misa immediately reached up to her neck and gasped for breathe. Kira moved quickly and was soon on top of Misa pinning her down with his hands and legs. Misa struggled against his hold but Kira didn't budge an inch. Kira snarled and dug his fingers into Misa's wrist drawing blood.

"Do you want to know what I am going to do to you Misa?" Kira whispered

Misa was sobbing and in complete panic mode, "NO!" she screamed over and over again

Kira leaned in close to Misa's ear and whispered, "Have you ever heard of a blood eagle? Of course you haven't you've never had to know anything other than how to smile and look like a whore for the camera. I'll explain it to you though; you might find it interesting. I read it once in a history class. It was performed by Vikings as a sacrifice to their all father Odin, but Bryn over there has promised me that you won't be going to any god, Odin, Zeus, Jupiter, whoever. No you're going somewhere where there aren't gods." Kira let go of his hold on Misa's wrists and grabbed her hips and flipped her over onto her stomach.

"See Vikings would cut open the back of the sacrifice to expose the spinal column." Kira ran a finger down Misa's back, "Then would flay the skin on either side of the spine to expose the ribs." Kira then poked at every one of Misa's ribs making Misa only scream and sob more.

"Shhh, it's not happening yet, no not until you understand what will happen." Kira smiled manically, "No one can hear here right?"

Bryn shook her head no and Kira continued.

"Good, because this is where it gets interesting. The executioner would break all of those ribs that he exposed on both sides. If you didn't die by then you were wishing you had because between the blood lose and the pain, your heart was working double time. Each rib they broke from the spine they pulled out to create a cage for the lungs so when they pulled those out too they could rest on the exposed ribs. You see the ribs they broke were still attached to the sternum, so they were still attached to the body and when you place the lungs on the ribs it looked like wings. Therefore they called it a blood eagle, and it was the most excruciating thing you could do to kill a person. Now I am going to do it to you Misa, and I'm going to make sure that you are alive long enough so you can see it." Kira finished with labored breathing from excitement.

"Bryn could you make sure she doesn't escape while I go find a suitable blade for the procedure." Kira got off of and left the room

Bryn watched after Light smiling, "I think I have made a good choice in this one. If I wasn't as sadistic and psychotic as him I would be afraid of him, but you have to admit the man's got style."

Misa stayed where she was sobbing, "Please kill me. Kill me before he does, I don't want to die in pain."

Bryn laughed, the laughter was so strong it racked through her body, "You think I would give you a quick and easy death? Misa I have watched you for a long time, and I really fucking hate you! I would kill you just as painfully. Why do you think I'm here? To make sure that he doesn't do anything too crazy? No I'm here to make sure you die and that you don't get to go to any heaven in your after life."

Kira returned with a large kitchen knife in hand, "Alright let's get you situated so you can watch each and every cut. A little help Bryn?"

"Nope, if I touch her she dies, but I can fix that mirror it that helps." Bryn moved to where the shards of glass lay on the floor. Bryn waved a hand over the shards and they levitated off the ground and back on to the frame fitting perfectly together and sealing. Bryn grabbed the sides of the mirror and took to Kira.

"You can't duplicate it a few times can you?"

Bryn drew her sword out again and slashed through the mirror where it split perfectly in two horizontally and fell to the floor again but when they landed there were two full sized mirrors. Bryn repeated the motion twice more and Kira now had 6 full sized mirrors. Kira arranged the mirrors all around the bed so there were 6 reflections of Misa in the mirrors.

Kira climbed back on to the bed and straddled Misa's hips, "Its best if you don't move, the more you move the longer this will take."

Before Misa had a chance to say anything Kira drove the knife into Misa's back and began cutting away her shirt and skin and throwing it to the floor. Misa screamed bloody murder and messed herself in the pain, but surprisingly didn't move. Kira continued delicately slicing away king until almost ¾ of Misa's back was nothing but muscle tissue. Kira felt where the spaces of Misa's ribs were and began digging out chunks of muscle to expose them. Blood began to flow out of Misa's back and a large pool formed on her bed and on the floor. Bryn watched the procedure completely emotionless. Bryn was studying every move Kira made as if he had done it a thousand times before. Each cut was made like a trained surgeon, precise and clean. Once Kira had removed all of the muscle tissue you could see the ribs clearly and down into the rib cage at Misa's lungs contracting quickly with each breath.

"Now the best part." Kira took a hold of one rib and snapped it easily at the spinal column. Misa let out a blood curdling scream but Kira continued with the next.

The sounds of the snaps were like tree branches breaking from a tree. The spot where the rib was broken were splintered out and as sharp needles. Kira continued methodically not pausing long enough for Misa to stop screaming. It was almost long continuous scream that made Bryn's ears ring. Once Kira was finished with the last rib there was a clear vision of what the "wings" were going to look like. Misa was panting and Bryn watched as the lungs contracted with her labored breathing. Light gently reached in and grabbed one of Misa's lungs and pulled it out and placed it on the bed of ribs. He repeated with the second lung and the go off of Misa to admire his work. It might have been possible spinal cord damage but Misa didn't move an inch. She just struggled to breathe now with the awkward position of her lungs and sobbed. Nearly Misa's entire face was covered in her own blood, and a good sized pool now covered the floor.

"She'll eventually die of blood loss or suffocation." Bryn said arching an eyebrow at Kira, "If that is what you were planning that is."

Kira ignored Bryn and continued staring at his master piece, "Can you see it Misa, the beauty that is a blood eagle. Some sacrifices thought this was a great honor to have this preformed on them because it was a gift to Odin."

Misa looked into the mirrors but didn't speak, only continued to sob and struggle to breathe. A few moments of silence went by as they waited for Misa to slowly die before she managed to speak. "I loved you Light."

"I know but I never loved you, I could never love anyone like you. You were stupid, ignorant, selfish, and you ruined my plans as Kira when you found that second note book. I could still be alive now if you wouldn't have become the second Kira." Kira replied sternly

Misa let out one final breath and then her lungs stopped moving and her now visible heart stopped beating. Misa eyes were void of all light and her face relaxed.

"It's over, she's dead." Bryn was leaning on her sword, but picked it up and walked to the lifeless Misa.

Bryn lifted the blade and slashed it down Misa's exposed back, but nothing happened, no mark was left in the blades path. Kira watched confused but didn't say anything. A few moments passed before a ghostly figure rose from Misa's body. The figured shifted and took the form of Misa with a bright orb shining in her chest.

"That is her soul," Bryn pointed to the orb with the tip of her sword, "You can take it now if you want."

Kira slowly walked towards Misa's astral body watching it warily. Misa's eyes were open and watched Kira, but never said a word and looked at him as if she had never seen him before.

"She has no memory of you anymore, well not until you take her soul, I can take it if you want." Bryn offered

Kira stopped in front of Misa and stared at the orb in her chest, "So we can walk away now and she haunts this place forever?"

Bryn nodded and watched Kira, "So is this Light or Kira standing here now?"

"What do you mean?" Light asked confused

"I'm going to say that it's Light because you back to the questions. You didn't get a look at yourself in the mirrors did you? You changed, you were dark and sadistic. It was most definitely Kira that did this. I like Kira, he doesn't ask questions." Bryn said with a laugh

"Huh, I didn't notice I guess." Light shrugged

Bryn laughed through her nose and reached into Misa's chest and grabbed the orb from her. Misa did move but followed the orb with her eyes. "If you take this you can keep it and bring it back to the realm of Reapers and she will become a servant, or we can send it to a different afterlife." Bryn said turning the orb in her hands

"Leave it, let her live in the vail lost and in pain." Light said monotone avoiding looking at Misa's astral body

Bryn closed her eyes and nodded head once, "You hear him, you are now bonded to this apartment, pick your object and good luck." Bryn told the astral body and it moved away and disappeared at the touch of a small broach.

Bryn held the orb out in front of her and it floated when she removed her hands and said something in a strange language Light didn't recognize. The orb began to fade and the light grew dim.

"What did you say?" Light asked looking at the air where the orb was just floating.

"I told it to that it would be in the vail to live in agony and pain until it is reunited with its astral body. I said it in an Old Norse language." said Bryn

"Old Norse? Vikings?" Light asked

Bryn closed her black eyes and sighed heavily, "Yes, I was a Viking shield maiden in my past life; I died and went to Valhalla. There I became at Valkyrie where I retrieved souls from the battle field and took them to the dining hall to feast with Odin. When Christianity took over I became a Reaper and now here I am playing a million questions with you."

"Is that why you're different from all of the other Reapers?" Light continued

"Yes." Bryn said coldly, "Come on we have more to see."

"What about the body?" Light asked turning to the carnage of Misa's murder

"I really hate question if you haven't noticed. Who cares about that? Leave it someone will find her there are not finger prints, no one will ever know who did this or why." Bryn said annoyed

Light didn't say anything for fear that Bryn would only get angrier about questions, but he didn't want to leave the room like this so he continued to stare hoping Bryn would get the hint.

"Ugh! Fine I'll fix everything. Seriously you're going to have to get over this… whatever this is.." Bryn walked past Light and unfolded her wings.

Bryn flapped them a few times and a whirlwind started moving around the room. Soon all of the blood and mess was being lifted in the wind and disappeared. Bryn moved over to Misa's body and re-folded everything back into is proper place were new skin grew and healed.

"There now it just looks like she died of some sort of natural cause I gave her a brain bleed or something. Don't make this a habit, I don't like fixing crime scenes to make it look something it wasn't. Now let's go." Bryn walked out of the room and back onto the terrace

"Now where?" Light asked when he made it back out to the terrace with Bryn

Bryn turned her head and glared down at Light.

"Right questions." Light smiled shyly

"I'm taking you too see someone I think you'll enjoy." Bryn smiled and unfolded her magnificent wings again.


	4. Chapter 4

Bryn unfolded her large metal wings and the light that shined off of them was blinding. The sun was high in the sky it had to been early afternoon. The sunbeams were powerful and the metal reflecting them could have easily started a fire. Light shielded his eyes from the reflection and stepped back so he wasn't knocked out by the wings while Bryn turned around to face him.

Bryn reached out a hand, "Come."

Light didn't hesitate, it was either take her hand or get left behind in this city that has moved on without him. Light grabbed Bryn's hand and was surprised by how delicate and soft her touch was this time. Her skin was still icy cold, but she didn't grip him with near the strength she did earlier. Bryn pulled Light in closer to her and wrapped both arms around his back. She picked him up easily and situated him so she cradling him. As awkward it was for Light to be cradled by an Amazonian sized woman he was still impressed by her strength; she wasn't struggling under his weight. Bryn jumped up slightly and they were soon flying climbing high into the sky. Bryn's wings made a beautiful melody as the feathers rubbed against each other and the wind moved through the fibers. They broke through the first cloud layer and were soon flying through fluffy white clouds just like jet planes. Bryn kept her eyes straight ahead and wasn't showing any amazement by beauty that was around them. She had seen it millions of times before; clouds had lost their spectacle to her, they now were just another obstacle in her path. They continued moving through the clouds for a while; Light continued to be in awe of the beauty around them and forgot that he was being carried around by a winged woman. Soon they began to slow down and Bryn landed gently on a large cloud. Light was amazed that the cloud was supporting her as if it was a solid mass. Bryn let go of Light's legs and slowly let him down to stand on the cloud with her. Light was hesitant to put weight on his feet, but once he realized that he wasn't sinking down into the fluffy cloud he let go of Bryn and took several steps forward testing the cloud under him. Bryn watched Light passively as he moved around the cloud floor and the vapors swirled around his feet. Once Bryn was sure that Light wasn't going to ask a million questions on why clouds were swallowing them whole she started to walk across the cloud. Light took notice and began to follow behind her a few paces, he wasn't sure where she was taking him and thought it best to keep her in between him and whatever is coming. Bryn's feathers drug through the cloud causing a mystical mist swirling around her feet. She walked confidently and carried herself beautifully; she looked like an angel in heaven. Light was lost in thought as he watched Bryn walk through the clouds that he didn't noticed she had stopped and he ran right into the scabbard of her sword. Bryn turned her head to look behind her and smiled slightly as Light picked himself back up trying to play off the embarrassment. In front of them stood a single door, there was nothing special about this door it was completely ordinary. There were no walls supporting it, just the frame and the door itself. You could walk completely around the door as if it didn't lead anywhere in particular, but Light knew better than to assume that the door didn't have a destination behind it when opened.

"Aren't you going to ask where we are?" Bryn asked surprised by Light's silence

"I thought you didn't like questions." Light sneered

"You can ask questions when they are pertinent to the situation, like this one, it would be logical for you to wonder where we are. Therefore it would be acceptable to ask the obvious question." Bryn laughed softly "This is heaven, the Christian heaven at least, and this door leads to one person's heaven in particular, would you like to guess whose or be surprised?"

Light looked at the door, there was no indication of whose it could be. It was just a simple white door similar to a bedroom door. How could he guess whose door it was when there was no possible way for him to guess based on the plainness of the door?

"I'll take you silence as a no." Bryn reached down and turned the door knob slowly

Bryn let go of the handle when she knew the latch was completely open. The door slowly swung inside, but there was no light coming from inside. Bryn stepped aside and gestured for Light to go through first. Light hesitated and looked from the darkness to Bryn unsure if it was safe to enter the unknown. Bryn waited patiently as Light continued to stare into the darkness.

"The inside isn't dark like you are seeing; it's just a camouflage that the inhabitant put up." Bryn said gently

Light shook his head and walked through the doorway and into the darkness. Once Light passed through the threshold a new world opened up to him. Light heard the chiming of Bryn's wings behind him and the sound of a door closing.

"This is someone's heaven?" Light asked staring out onto a grassy plain

"Yes, heaven isn't one place but an infinite amount of places. Each person is given their own version of what they believe heaven is, families can share heavens or each person can have their own if they choose. Heaven is complicated and confusing." Bryn explained as they walked through the tall grass. "Come I think he's over here."

Bryn continue to lead Light through the grassy plains and they came up to a small pond where Light saw a young man standing in the shallow of the water skipping rocks across the flat surface.

Bryn stopped on top of a slight hill, "I believe this is one introduction you rather me not start. I'll follow you from here." Bryn motioned for Light to take the lead.

Light looked at Bryn confused but continued down the gentle slope to where the man was standing in the water. The man looked familiar he had dark black hair, a white long sleeve shirt, light washed jeans, and no shoes.

"L?" Light asked in a hushed tone

"Huh I haven't heard that name in a long time." The young man turned around and Light's face widened in shock at the difference of L's appearance. When Light had known Ryuzaki, L, or Hideki while he was alive the young man looked sleep deprived with dark circles under his equally dark eyes. His posture was horrible, constantly slumped over. Now he was standing in front of Light looking as if he had finally had a good night's sleep, his dark eyes seemed to have a little more life in them, and he was standing straight and tall like someone finally gave him a good back adjustment.

"Hello Light, or should I call you Kira? I guess L would work for you too since you took over my position after you had that Shinigami kill me." L asked in his classic monotone soft voice. The corner of his lips picked up slightly in attempts to smile. L took notice to the tall statuesque woman standing at the edge of the water watching them both carefully. "Who is this?" L began to walk to where Bryn was watching

Bryn stood still watching L carefully as he approached her, "My name is Bryn, I've brought Light here to visit you."

"Are you another Shinigami?" L asked inspecting Bryn's body, "If you are you're one of the better looking ones I'd say."

Bryn groaned irritated but answered L's question, "No I am not one of them lazy waste of space creatures."

"She doesn't like being asked questions, she's a Reaper. I would like to know why you brought me here thought." Light went to stand by L who was still inspecting Bryn

"I thought you would like to see the one person that challenged you, that made your life interesting. In a weird way he was your only friend." Bryn answered but watched L warily as he started circling her.

L began lifting up Bryn's wings inspecting the joints and anatomy of the muscles that controlled their movement, "Quiet fascinating." L mumbled poking at the skin on her back. "Now what is this for?" L lifted up the scabbard of Bryn's sword

Bryn groaned and mumbled curses under her breath in a strange dialect as L continued treating her as a new piece of science equipment. "Please stop touching me... Will you get control of your friend?" Bryn glared at Light

"I don't understand why I'm here, I hated him, he was trying to find and arrest Kira, why would I want to see him again?" Light complained

L had somehow managed to reach up to Bryn's face and was inspecting her hair, eyes, teeth, and facial structure intently.

"Don't you want to tell him why you're here or I don't know, why you're dead?" Bryn said smacking away L's hand as he was running and eye test to see if she would follow his finger. "My eyes are black yes, but I can still see your grubby little finger! Will you get off of me? I am not a child's toy!"

"She does bring up an interesting question Light, Kira, why are you here? What happened?" L asked perching himself on Bryn's shoulders.

"I hate heaven, full of weird freaks, can't kill them, can't hurt them, boring place…" Bryn grumbled under her breath as L adjusted his weight to the balls of his feet.

Light was enjoying Bryn's discomfort and suppressed a smile and tried to change his focus to the question L had asked him. "You're successor 'N' and some kid named Mellow continued your investigation and caught me. I was shot by Matsuda several times, but ultimately it was Ryuk who killed me by writing my name in his Death Note." Light shrugged, at the time it was the end, but now with the promise of becoming a Reaper his own death was the best thing that happened to Light.

"Hmm," L placed his thumb on his bottom lip pulling it down gently, "Near, he had great promise, as did Mellow. I wonder how they decided who would be my successor since I never actually declared who would take over after my death."

"If you get off of me I'll tell you…" Bryn huffed

"No that's okay, I really don't need to know, now that I'm in heaven I yearn for answers like I did." L dug his toes into Bryn shoulder which made Bryn shutter.

"What happened to you? You look… different." Light asked looking up at L

"I died of course," L smiled childishly, "When you come to heaven you are never tired, you are made perfect again."

"Why is this your heaven?" Light gesture to the plains around them

"I change it every once in a while, sometimes it's the city, sometimes it's a mountain valley, I can travel the world, do what I want." L was excited like a child "I've visited your father a few times too."

Light's eyes shot up to L's at the mention of his father, "How is he? Does he know that I'm dead, does he know I'm Kira?"

"Was Kira, and no, I couldn't tell him, I didn't feel like that was my place to tell him." L shook his head

Light didn't want to bring up that he would soon be Kira again, but would it really affect his father if he knew that Light was Kira the whole time? Heaven is perfect bliss, no anger, no hatred; would he really be destroyed by knowing that Light had lied to him the whole time? Light pondered these thoughts for a while as L continued to pester Bryn. Eventually L had moved enough that Bryn grabbed him by the shoulders and dropped him to the ground again. Before L could climb back on her she unfolded her wings and flew up to the top of a tree and hid out of L's reach.

"Interesting, the metal doesn't slow down the rate in which you need to move your wings to get enough power to fly." L mumbled impressed watching Bryn move her wings.

"Stay away from me you creepy little sloth human hybrid…" Bryn hissed from her hiding spot "Bother Light that's why I brought him he's the one you were in obsessed with anyways."

Light was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by Bryn's words, "Obsessed?"

"You fascinated me Light, your ability to deduce situations, your reasons of deduction and logic. All of that and you still had the perfect social life and a family." L shrugged

Bryn snickered from her hiding spot happy that she was finally turning L's attention from her to Light.

"I considered you a friend, I still do. I feel if you weren't Kira while we were alive, and I wasn't a world renowned detective we could have been friends. You challenged me not only mentally but physically. I haven't forgotten about that tennis match at University." L continued back down to the water

The pit where Light's heart should be seemed to shrink at the kind words L was telling him. Light would have considered L a friend too if he wasn't so bent on catching Kira and constantly testing Light to see if he was lying.

"Bryn I would like to leave now." Light hung his head and mumbled. He didn't know what to say to L, there was nothing he could do now to fix what he had done to him while they were alive

Light heard the now familiar sound of Bryn's wings unfolding and she soon appeared next to Light. "Are you sure you're ready? If you don't pass your tests then you will never be able to come back here again." Bryn asked gently so Light would consider the weight of his request.

Light shook his head, "Yes I am sure, pass or fail, I don't know if I will be coming back anyways… Goodbye Ryuzaki."

"Goodbye Light Yagami." L threw a rock and watched it skip across the surface of the water before turning around to Light and Bryn.

Light started walking away first and didn't bother looking back at L who watched them slowly disappear over the hill. Bryn followed behind and remained quiet allowing Light to be alone with his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

Light continued walking with no clue where he was going. Bryn followed behind allowing Light to lead the way not wanting to interrupt whatever he was thinking

"Why did you bring me here?" Light asked and stopped walking

"I told you already." Bryn answered and shrugged

"I know why, but I want a better explanation." Light pushed

"Being who we are we are given the privilege to come to these places. To the places where our family and friends are able to live in their afterlife. My family is in Valhalla, I visit every once in a while, but I have been who I am for so long that I am but a shadow of my former self. They don't recognize me anymore, but I still like to watch them. I never had children I didn't live long enough to be blessed with them, but I had siblings who had children and they too are now in Valhalla. I might be dead but I still have my memories and I still have a deep love for my family. Vikings were very close with their families. I just wanted you to know that if you agree to all this that there are some, I guess perks to the job." Bryn seemed to light up as she talked about her past and her family, Light was surprised by gentleness she was showing.

"But why him? Why did you bring me to see him? You could have brought me to my father, my grandparents, any other family, but you brought me to L." Light seemed to get angry as he continued to ponder Bryn's plan.

"I told you that I watched you for a long time. I saw how you two connected; how you had this bond that even though he was ultimately trying to bring you down you still liked him. I figured if you could see anyone that he would be the one that would bring you the greatest joy. Your father died in peace thinking his son was not the murderous Kira that everyone was accusing him to be. I know you don't want him to know, well at least not yet. There is a method to my madness." Bryn said casually

Light stood quiet for a while staring absent mindedly at Bryn. Bryn just stood there passively allowing Light to process what he needed to understand what Bryn was trying to show him.

"Do you want to hit me?" Bryn asked tilting her head. A curtain of silver hair fell off her shoulder and shined in the light

"I have never wanted to hit a girl…" Light started

"That's a lie." Bryn interrupted "I'm really not a human so it wouldn't violate any morals that you might still have, and trust me I have fought many men and won. I'm not an easy target."

"I'm starting to consider hitting you." Light retorted.

Bryn laughed, "Go ahead, you can have one good punch, any after that I get to retaliate."

Light considered her offer but decided not to get on the bad side of Bryn until she takes him back to the realm of Reapers. "I think I'll pass, can we go now?"

"You're done aimlessly walking around L's heaven?" Bryn asked light heartedly

Light just glared at Bryn, he was starting to understand why she hates questions. Bryn just laughed and pulled her sword from its scabbard. Bryn slashed it through the air down to the grass and what looked like a tear in fabric formed in the blades path. Bryn pulled apart the torn sky and another door appeared just like the one they had come from earlier. Bryn turned the doorknob and walked through; Light followed behind and was soon standing in the same hall they had been in before they went through the golden mirror. Bryn was putting her great sword back in hit scabbard when Light came through the door.

"Close that behind you; it can cause a big mess if you left that open." Bryn adjusted the strap of the scabbard and turned around to face Light.

Light pulled the door closed and the moment he heard the latch click the door disappeared into thin air. "What would happen if someone got through?"

"Mass hysteria, war of the realms, you know complete and utter chaos. Some people don't take to knowing about other realms every well. Some can't survive in a different realm the environment doesn't fit their sensitive systems." Bryn spoke casually and grabbed what looked like an apple from a bowl next to her. The apple reminded light of Ryuk and how apples were like a drug to him.

"Do you ever go to the Shinigami realm?" Light blurted out

Bryn stopped mid-bite and stared at Light, "Sometimes, at one point we and the Shinigami worked hand in hand, but they got lazy and we abandoned them. Their world is decaying under their feet because they don't do anything. Our world is prosperous and thriving because we fulfill our duties as Reapers. If we stopped taking souls then our world would die and so would we, then the Earth would get out of control because no one would ever die." Bryn held the apple out in front of her in one hand as she spoke and when she spoke of the world dying the apple rotted and disintegrate in her hand. She brushed off the dust and picked up another apple and bit into it.

"I could visit Ryuk if I wanted? That is if I become a Reaper." Light watched as the dust from the disintegrate lay on the floor.

"Yes, I don't know why you would want to." Bryn looked at Light curiously

Light smiled as evil thoughts plagued his mind, and Bryn took notice to the sudden cold change to Light.

"Killing a God is forbidden, we might be death but we do have our limits. Shinigami's are God's of Death they are our superiors, in a sense we are their angels…" Bryn stepped towards Light warily, "They don't tell us what to do anymore but that doesn't mean we want to kill them, it would throw everything off balance. I don't know what you are thinking in that twisted mind of yours but don't go thinking that you can kill Ryuk."

"I just want to go see my old _friend_." Light put a dark emphasis on the word "friend" and snarled a nasty smile.

"Look kid I get that you're mad because he wrote your name in his book killing you, but he ultimately gave you this opportunity, if anything you should be thanking him." Bryn leaned against a table in front of Light.

"You're right I do want to thank him; Thank him for the Death Note, thank him for killing me, thank him for letting me come here to become even more powerful than I could ever imagine. I'll become the God I have always wanted to be, and it's all thanks to Ryuk." Light said with a twisted mangled smile.

"Uh-huh whatever you say Kira… Anyways let's get going I have some friends I want you to meet." Bryn turned and walked out of the hall.

Light waited behind a few moments to be alone with his thoughts. If he is able to past the tests of these Reapers he could go to Ryuk's world and end them, making the Reapers the new God's of Death and effectively making Light the God of every realm. Light's dark smile only grew more and that darkness that was inside him swelled with the possibility of the future he was going to create. Light laughed a few times and started through the hall towards the front doors where Bryn has just exited.


	6. Chapter 6

Light stepped out of the hall and found Bryn standing in a group of other Reapers talking. Once the new Reapers caught sight of Light all conversation stopped. Bryn turned around and waved Light over to where they were standing. Light had never felt so short in his life; the new Reapers were a few inches taller than Bryn and would put a body builder to shame.

"Light these are some friends of mine; Balder and Erik were in the cave with me when we found you and Cain. This is Britta and Alexa, and those are some of the servants, Cain you know already." Bryn gestured to three cowering bodies. Britta was slightly shorter than Bryn and had brilliant white wings and what looked like a long bladed spear. Britta had short cut blonde hair that barely reached her shoulders. Alexa was equal height with Bryn and had black and white speckled wings and a traditional scythe with equally dark black hair as her wings. Erik and Balder both had short brown hair, but Erik's hair shaggy and unkempt whereas Balder's hair was kempt. The three servants were starved men who appeared to only be a shadow of their former selves, Light didn't pay much mind to them he figured since he would soon be the one giving them orders there would be no need to start being nice now. The servants were of normal height, well normal compared to Light, but stood hunched over from constant fear.

"Go fetch our new member some food!" Erik smacked Cain in the back of the head at his request. Cain whimpered, bowed, and then left to find food. Erik was the man who picked up Cain the first time and then proceeded to drop Cain from a great distance at Bryn's request. Erik had the falcon-esc wings, and Balder had the silvery pelican like wings. Light was caught up admiring the different Reaper's wings and didn't realize he was staring.

"Are sure this one is okay? Maybe he got messed up when he was dropped here." Alexa asked breaking Light from his staring

Bryn laughed, "Trust me he'll be a good candidate. He's smart, and just twisted enough to be one of us."

"One of you?" Light asked looking to Bryn

"A Valkyrie of course, you might not be of Viking decent but we'll ignore that little detail." Britta smiled warmly "We technically aren't anymore because Christianity took over the world, but we are going to bend the rules a little."

"Wait I thought Valkyries had metal wings like hers?" Light pointed to Bryn

"My wings were a gift from Frigga herself. I was her most trusted Valkyrie." Bryn bragged and stood a little straighter. Light noticed that Balder and Erik roll their eyes.

"Why aren't your eyes the same then?" Light continued

"You weren't kidding about the questions." Alexa huffed

"Because I've been a Valkyrie for a long time, one of the first actually, it just happened over time." Bryn shrugged

"Will it happen to all of you?" Light asked

Alexa groaned, Bryn laughed, but it was Britta that answered, "Possibly, as far as we can tell it happens to those who have taken souls to so very bad places."

Britta seemed to be a very warm presence, which Light felt was strange for a Reaper. Bryn seemed very passive with "I don't give a damn" attitude, but Britta almost seemed motherly. Light wasn't sure if Britta is one he should watch warily or trust. Cain returned about that time with a bowl of various fruit, cheeses, and bread in one arm and several large mugs filled with what Light imagined was mead to fit in with the Viking-esc vibe in the group. Cain distributed the cups to the Reapers then Light, and then placed the food up on ledge nearby. Light looked down into the mug at an amber colored liquid. Light slowly lifted the mug to his lips and took a cautious sip. The liquid was surprisingly sweet with several different flavors that Light couldn't place. In all honesty it tasted like sunshine and all things warm and happy.

"What is this?" Light asked greedily

"Ambrosia juice, we steal it from the Greek God's every once and a while when we go up to Olympus to deliver souls." Balder answered and took a healthy gulp from his cup

"Steal isn't the right word; it's gifted to us every once and a while." Britta glared at Balder

"Here try this." Erik threw a piece of fruit at Light

Light caught it easily in one hand and took a bite out of the pear shaped fruit, although it wasn't a pear it tasted a lot like the juice but sweeter and had a slight crunch.

"That is the ambrosia fruit, favorite food of the Greek God's. It's like crack to them." Erik said as Light continued to eat around the core of the fruit. Light could understand why they had an addiction to the fruit. The more Light ate of it the better he felt, and the more of it he wanted.

"Shit don't let him get a hold of a lotus fruit…" Alexa scoffed and watched Light eat the fruit with disgust

Light ignored Alexa, he continued eating but he couldn't help wondering why he even needed to eat if he was dead. There should be any need if there was nothing to keep alive or need energy, but for some reason he as hungry.

"Why do you eat if you don't really need to?" Light managed to asked in between bites of ambrosia

" _We_ don't need to eat but we like to because we like food, you how ever still need too. You need to keep your physical body in shape; you're still technically human just minus a few key parts that keep you human… like a soul." Bryn said and handed Light a napkin.

"Where is my soul?" Light asked wiping away what might be ambrosia juice or drool

"Up there." Britta answered and pointed to a large castle like building on top of a mountain.

"Why is it up there?" Light asked but soon a curved blade of a scythe was at his neck

"You really need to stop asking questions kid." Alexa growled and pushed the scythe closer to Light's neck

Bryn, Erik, and Balder were laughing as if it was the most hilarious thing they had ever seen, but Britta came to Light's defense and pulled him away from Alexa's blade. Britta was livid and speaking to Alexa in what Light thought was an Old Norse language. Alexa narrowed her eyes and looked between Light and Britta a few times before walking away from the group. One of the servants followed behind her and once they got a little ways from the group Alexa swung the scythe tripping the creature. Erik and Balder only laughed harder at the sight.

"That's why you need to eat Light." Britta pointed to Cain and the other remaining servant, "If you don't eat then you start to… Well die and look like them."

"But I'm already dead." Light looked to where Cain was standing, "Why does it matter?"

"You're body physical body still needs the nurturance so it doesn't start to decay. See you still have your physical body and astral body but no soul. You are still 'living' but you are not alive." Bryn answered

"It's like you're a zombie, re-animated but you don't have an appetite for brains." Balder said enthusiastically "I know they were becoming a big thing when you were still on Earth, but don't worry that doesn't ever happen… I don't think so at least."

"What happens when I become a Reaper?" Light directed his attention back to the group

"You get a weapon." Balder replied and they all pulled out their respected weapons

"I don't understand." Light looked confused at the weapons

"You forge a weapon from your soul. More like your soul chooses the weapon it will become for you to take other souls." Bryn stuck the tip of her sword into the dirt and put her weight onto it, "Your soul becomes a weapon and it's why we can take soul from bodies, it's how we separate the astral body from the physical body. It's also why we can't use each other's weapons. If I was to grab Britta's spear it would be useless to me just an ordinary spear. Same goes if she took my sword." The group nodded their heads in agreement

"Right now your soul is up there with the rest of the servant's souls. See some were brought here just like you to become a reaper too, but they failed the tests and never made it up the mountain to receive their soul weapon. So they are forever stuck here doing work for the reapers. Other souls were brought just to become servants." Britta explained and handed Cain and the other servant a piece of fruit from the bowl. The two dug into the fruit as if they hadn't ate in days, which the probably hadn't after what Britta has explained. "If you past the test and receive your soul weapon you get your wings and from there your whole anatomy changes in both a physical and a astral way."

"So I get to be taller than you two?" Light asked looking from Bryn and Britta

Bryn sighed, "Probably, sadly even here for some reason men are taller than women."

Erik and Balder high fived each other like a couple of frat brothers who just shot gunned a whole beer.

"Come on I'll show you where you can stay, I have some work to do anyways." Bryn shook her head at the two men

Britta warmly said goodbye to Light and waved to them until they were out of sight. Bryn walked out of town down the same path Light had been on earlier, but she turned down another path that was only visible going out of the village. The soon came in to a grove of trees that blocked the majority of the sun light. Bryn stopped in front of a large tree and nocked softly on the bark.

"Tilda?" Bryn yelled up into the branches, "Tilda wake up I have a guest, it's Bryn!"

There was a rustling and it was raining leaves, but then the bark on the tree swung open like a door and an elder woman came out. Tilda was significantly older than Bryn, well at least she looked like it. She too has silver hair like Bryn's but Bryn's had shine and luster, Tilda's was wiry like an old woman's. Tilda's wings looked like they had been battered and beaten from many centuries of flying and fighting.

"Light Tilda, Tilda Light." Bryn gestured back and forth between the two, "Light Tilda is the Valkyrie rep here, kind of like everyone's grandmother. Since there are several different religions that have their version of Reapers we all have our own reps hidden around, but we all do the same jobs. It's a peaceful co-existence."

Light stepped closer to Bryn and whispered, "Why is she so… old?"

"Because I am!" Tilda snapped before Bryn could reply, "I told that Odin that if I couldn't be a working Valkyrie anymore then I want to take care of them so he sent me here with them when Christianity took over."

"Tilda was a Valkyrie, but she was, eh-hem, older when she died in battle so she is well…" Bryn ducked her head as shield came swinging at her, "retired in a sense."

"Vikings don't retire! You either die in battle or live until you die of old age! I died old while in a battle damn it! I was promised to dine in the halls of Valhalla and I did and I told that Odin to make me a Valkyrie so he did, but little did he know I was going to be a stubborn old broad! I showed that God I did…" Tilda started walking back into the mumbling under her breath about Odin

"Yea so have fun with her, watch out for that shield she still pretty dangerous with it. I have a few souls to get I'll see you when I get back and we'll get started." Bryn said in a hurried tone and was quickly flying up out of the trees before Light could say anything.

"Well are you coming or you going to stand there staring at the trees all damn day?" Tilda hollered back out to Light "I have some food come eat."

Light sighed deeply and then headed into the tree behind Tilda. The tree door closed automatically behind Light and he went down a set of wood stairs deep underground where the roots of the tree were anchored into the ground.


	7. Chapter 7

Tilda wasn't as bad as her first impression made her out to be. She was tough on the outside but warm and kind hearted on the inside. Tilda made sure Light had all the food he could eat and wouldn't take no for answer. Light couldn't tell how time worked yet in the Reaper realm but it didn't seem too long after Bryn left she was already back ready to teach Light. There was a soft knock on the wood then the sounds of several different sets of feet coming down the stairs.

"Tilda!?" a strong male voice came echoing down the stairs

"Down here Balder." Tilda called back

Soon Balder, Bryn, and Britta came into view, "Hello again Light." Britta smiled warmly

Balder quickly sat down at the table and dug into some cookies Tilda had been baking. Tilda smacked Balder's hand when he went to reach for another cookie, "Eat what you have then you can have more!"

Bryn took a seat on the other side of Balder and Britta sat next to Light on the couch looking towards the others. Light took notice that the 3 Reapers didn't have their weapons on them but they laid against the wall next to the stairs much like people would take off their shoes when entering a home. If it wouldn't have been for their wings the group would have looked like a normal family. Balder and Bryn were laughing and joking with each other, Tilda was moving around the kitchen making more cookies, and Britta had pick up a book to read.

"Something on your mind kid?" Balder asked jokingly snapping Light out of his thoughts

"You all seem so normal…" Light stammered

"Well we were human once too." Britta looked at Light and tilted her head

"This is one of the few places we get to be normal for a while." Bryn said and grabbed a cookie out of Balder's hand, "We like to relax too; it's not all work and no play you know."

"Though I would like for them not to make such a mess tracking in dirt and what not in to my home every time they come to visit!" Tilda growled as she set another plate of cookies on the table.

"Sorry." The three of them mumbled and avoided Tilda's menacing gaze

"So what'd say we get started on some lessons?" Balder asked enthusiastically to Light

"Lessons?" Light was confused; he thought it was just a series of tests he had to take.

"We aren't going to just throw you into the tests without giving you a head up of what will happen. We aren't that mean." Bryn laughed

"We do want you to pass." Britta smiled

The three of them got up and thanked Tilda kindly before heading towards the stairs where their respected weapons sat waiting for them. Light too followed suit and thanked Tilda for all she had done for him and followed the Reapers up the stairs and out the door. The sun was still high in the sky it looked like it hadn't moved at all since Light was taken to Tilda's.

"Does it ever get dark here?" Light asked looking up at the sky

"Nope, never. It's forever day, we get rain and snow sometimes, but it never stops being day time." Balder replied

"That is why the servants hide out in the caves because it's dark enough for them to get a little sleep. You're going to have to tell us when you get tired because we have forgotten what it's like to have those feelings. We never sleep, and don't have to eat, or use the bathroom." Britta tried to make light of the situation.

"Okay…" Light furrowed his eyebrows

They walked up the path from earlier and through the village and then continued the same way Alexa had left the group earlier. The made it to a small clearing that looked like a work out area. There was a sparing arena, archery targets, target dummies, and various equipment for conditioning. There seemed to be several other people there but once the caught glimpse of the group the all stopped what they were doing and stared.

"What is going on?" Light asked

"Checking out the fresh meat." Balder laughed, "No they are intimidated by… ahem" Balder gestured towards Bryn.

"Why?" Light looked at Bryn through the corner of his eye

"She's like a legend to them, she has retrieved the most souls and taken them to some pretty scary places and came back to tell about it. She was one of the first Valkyries, and one of the first to accept this world as a place of equality for other religions. There are several rumors about how she got metal wings going around, and she is the only one that has been granted a sword as a weapon. She says the wings are from Frigga but who knows if that's true." Balder whispered

Bryn was the first to walk down towards the training area and people moved out of her path like she was royalty. Light and the others followed close behind watching as everyone avoided looking directly at Bryn while they were in her line of sight. Light noticed how there were others that still looked human. The other humans were accompanied by other Reapers who looked like they were training their respective human. Light heard them whisper about him and how he must be the lucky kid that picked by Bryn to be trained, and how she fought for him to brought here in the first place. Light walked a little taller when he heard the tone of jealousy coming from the other Reapers and humans. Bryn stopped in front of a barrel that held several different styles of weapons. She reached in and pulled out a trident similar to Balder's but much smaller.

"Here take this." And threw the trident towards Light

Light caught the weapon by its handle and notice he was being tossed what looked like a shield too. Light adjusted his grip on the trident and caught the shield in the nick of time, right before it would have landed on his feet. Light wasn't sure if he would be able to feel pain in this world, but he didn't want to find out by having a shield dropped on his toes.

"This looks like training for battle not taking souls." Light complained as he inspected his new gear

"No one ever said that retrieving souls were the only part of the job." Bryn smiled slyly "You saw half of the job; sometimes the hard part is delivering the soul to its final resting place. Ever heard of the 9 circles of Daunte's Inferno? Sometimes you got to fight your way in and fight your way back out through all 9 rings."

"We're Viking we like fights." Balder roared with laughter

"Come on put them up, let's see what you got." Bryn drew her sword from behind her and a circle started to form around them

Light took a calming breath before lunging at Bryn. Bryn easily blocked the attack with her sword and spun around out of Light's sight line.

"Get that shield up or I'll ring your head like a bell!" Light heard Bryn yell somewhere behind him

Soon Bryn was lunging at Light and he barely got his shield up quick enough. The edge of Bryn's sword went down Light's shield sending sparks through the air. Light had a clear shot as Bryn was bringing her sword back up above her head for another strike. Light went to jab upwards towards Bryn's stomach but the sharp points of the trident was met by metal feathers. Bryn had blocked the attack with her wing, and now Light's trident was tangled in a mess of Bryn's feather. Light tried to pull back on the trident to get it free, but Bryn drew her wings outward pulling the trident out of Light's hands. In a blink of an eye Light was stripped of his weapon and the point of Bryn's sword was at his throat.

"Not bad, good call on trying to get me when I expose my vital organs to lift the sword. Nearly had me there I'll admit, but now I have to try to remove this trident from me." Bryn pulled her wing towards her and began re-arranging feathers to work on getting the trident out.

The crowd around them applauded for the show they had just watched. Light heard a few whispers of jealousy from both Reapers and humans, and a few looked impressed by Light's abilities.

"Way to go kid!" Balder clapped a hand on Light's should pushing him forward with the power behind the gesture

"You'll be ready for the tests sooner than we expected!" Britta squealed excitedly

There was a loud grunt of pain and then the sound of metal clattering to the ground. Light and the others turned to see that Bryn had pulled the trident from her wings, but now there was black ooze dripping from her wing and several feathers laid on the ground covered in the same ooze.

"Looks like I won't be flying anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for that Light." Bryn looked down at the injured wing

Balder laughed and went over to where Bryn was standing nursing her injured wing. Instead of consoling her Balder reached down and picked up a couple of the feathers that had fallen off of Bryn's wings.

"Here," Balder held a feather out to Light, "They make good weapons in tight spots, sharp as hell these things are."

Light grabbed the feathers Balder and inspected them in his hand, "What's this black stuff?"

"My blood." Bryn was approaching the group "Well what was my blood, it's not well oxygenated anymore."

A group of people went to where the remaining feathers were lying on the ground and began to fight for what was left. It was either to get a feather just for the fact that it came from Bryn's wings or that they might actually make good weapons.

"Come on he looks tired, we should go." Britta looked at Light concerned

"I'm fine really." Light lied; he was actually pretty tired. Who know how long he had been awake. Come to think of it Light could remember the last time he actually got some sleep. He was still possibly a live at that time.

The group left the training area where other Reapers and humans were still fighting over Bryn's feathers. Everyone in Light's group seemed unaffected by the behaviors of the other people around them and continued up towards the village. Instead of going back towards Tilda's tree home the head more towards the mountain that Britta had pointed out earlier. Light didn't dare ask questions, instead followed behind and took in the beautiful surroundings. The stopped part way up the mountain on a ledge that over looked the small village. Balder pushed on a rock that exposed the entrance of a cave and walked inside. The other two Reapers were right behind him, but Light hesitated for a moment.

"Are you afraid of caves or something? Seriously I don't want to play this game again Light." Bryn hollered from inside

Light laughed through his nose and went inside. To his surprised it wasn't like the cave he was in when Bryn had found him, but instead it was much like a small home. The interior reminded Light of a cabin; all wood furniture what looked like a rug made from hand spun sheep's wool. All the light came from a fire place and fire lit lamps and candles. Despite the fact that it was a cabin feeling environment everything was immaculately clean and arranged. It doesn't look like a Viking lived in it although Light was positive this had to the home of one of the three of the Valkyries standing inside. Light's bet was on Balder because it looked to manly for either Bryn or Britta.

"Well it's not much, but it what I consider a small home away from home." Balder gestured around the room, "I come here when I have some down time, and it's were my last prospect stayed during his training, but that didn't go well. Anyways you're welcome to stay here, when you need a place to sleep. It stays pretty dark even with the rock moved out of the way so you won't have to worry about pushing it every time."

The Reapers are far kinder than what mythology has made them out to be. They have a sense of ownership, companionship, compassion, even pain. For being essentially death they are far more alive than some humans on earth. Balder showed Light around the cave, there wasn't much to it but at least there was a bed and place to shower when he needed. Bryn, Balder, and Britta said their goodbyes and left Light alone in the homey little cave.


End file.
